Figure Skating

[Good Queen Jane]

Icenetwork has announced it will provide live streaming coverage of the JGP which is taking place in Colorado Springs this week to season pass subscribers.

 

The schedule is as follows (All Times Listed Are EASTERN):

 

Thursday, Sept. 3

5:30 pm: Men’s Short Program

9:45 pm: Pairs Short Program

 

Friday, Sept. 4

12:30 pm: Short Dance

3:15 pm: Ladies Short Program

8:30 pm: Men’s Free Skate

 

Saturday, Sept. 5

12:00 noon: Free Dance

2:50 pm: Pairs Free Skate

5:15 pm: Ladies Free Skate

 

For those who don’t have an Icenetwork Season Pass or can’t watch the live streaming, the video of each skater’s performances also will be posted on YouTube on the ISU Junior Grand Prix channel.

[Good Queen Jane]

The first of the Challenger Series competitions for Seniors takes place this week in Salt Lake City. The U.S. International Figure Skating Competition will be held September 17-20.

 

The Challenger Series competitions have several purposes. For skaters who are scheduled to compete in the Grand Prix series, these competitions give them a chance to perform their programs in an International competition and determine what improvements/changes might be needed before the Grand Prix starts. For other skaters, this is an opportunity to get minimum required technical scores in order to qualify for Europeans, Four Continents and/or Worlds. Some skaters are in the Challenger Series because these are the only international competitions at which they can compete. Among the other major competitions in the Challenger Series are the Nebelhorn Trophy and the Finlandia Cup.

 

The field for the U.S. International is mainly skaters from the U.S. and Canada, or skaters who train in the U.S. and Canada. None of the top-ranked skaters have chosen this event, but there are some interesting skaters to watch nonetheless. Among the entries are:

 

MEN: Timothy Dolenksy-USA, Richard Dornbush-USA, Ross Miner-USA, Michael Christian Martinez-PHI, Keiji Tanaka-JPN, Alexi Bychenko-ISR

 

LADIES: Mariah Bell-USA, Karen Chen-USA, Angela Wang-USA, Veronik Mallet-CAN, Satoko Miyhara-JPN, Kanako Murakami-JPN, Elizabet Tursynbaeva - KAZ

 

PAIRS: Castelli and Tran-USA, Donlan and Bartholomay-USA, Kayne and O’Shea-USA, Moore-Towers and Marino-CAN, Jones and Reagan-CAN

 

DANCE: Hubbell and Donohue-USA, Thomas and Eaton-USA, Paradis and Ouellette-CAN

 

Since this is a U.S. Figure Skating sponsored event, icenetwork.com will be live streaming the competition to subscribers. The schedule for the live streaming is as follows:

 

ALL TIMES LISTED ARE EASTERN

Thursday, Sept. 17 

7:30 pm - Pairs Short

8:45 pm - Men’s Short

 

Friday, Sept. 18

12:25 pm - Short Dance

2:15 pm - Ladies Short

5:45 pm - Pairs Free Skate

7:30 pm - Men’s Free Skate

 

Saturday, Sept. 19

6:20 pm - Ladies Free Skate

10:15 pm - Free Dance

 

The skating season is starting to get into full swing. It’s time for Senior skaters to start polishing up their programs and showing what they can do.

[Diane Mars]

It's really not in my habits to relay petitions but...

 

Let's try to do someting in order to change the system, give some awareness and.... let the skaters skate  : https://www.change.org/p/ottavio-cinquanta-isu-didier-gailhaguet-ffsg-let-the-skaters-skate-savchenko-massot-zahorski-guerreiro-and-elizabeth-major

[Good Queen Jane]

Two international competitions will be taking this week. For Seniors, it will be the Nebelhorn Trophy, one of the Challenger Series events, and for Juniors, it will be the Junior Grand Prix of Poland.

 

Entries in the Nebelhorn Trophy will include:

 

MEN: Max Aaron – USA, Grant Hockstein – USA, Michal Brezina – CZE, Elladj Balde – CAN, Florent Amodio – FRA, Peter Liebers – GER, Konstantine Menshov – RUS

 

LADIES: Courtney Hicks – USA, Mirai Nagasu – USA, Kaetlyn Osmond – CAN, Alaine Chartrand – CAN, Mariko Kihara – JPN, Alena Leonova – RUS

 

PAIRS: Scimeca and Knierim – USA, Volosozhar and Trankov – RUS, Sequin and Bilodeau – CAN, James and Cipres – FRA

 

DANCE: Chock and Bates – USA, Cannuscio and McManus – USA, Paul and Islam – CAN

 

The Nebelhorn will mark the return to international competition of Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada and Volosozhar and Trankov of Russia after sitting out last year due to injury. Chock and Bates are the heavy favorites to win Dance.

 

For the JGP of Poland, the U.S. entries will be:

 

MEN: Alex Krasnozhon, Tony Liu

 

LADIES: Akari Nakahara, Megan Wessenberg

 

PAIRS: Liu and Johnson, Weinberg and Fernandez

 

DANCE: McNamara and Carpenter, Carreira and Ponomarkeno

 

The ISU will post the video of skaters at the JGP of Poland on it’s JGP channel on YouTube at: ttps://www.youtube.com/user/ISUJGP2011/videos. Usually, videos of individual skaters performances at the Nebelhorn Trophy show up on YouTube within a day or so.

 

It’s only about a month until the Grand Prix Series starts with Skate America in Milwaukee. It’s time for skaters to get serious about polishing up their programs before the major competitions begin. And if you haven't heard the news, Evgeni Plushenko has announced that he had another surgery on his back and that he will not compete in any ISU events this year.

[Tippi]

There's bad news for Josh Farris fans--I just read that he is out of the Grand Prix events this year.  He had a concussion in July, I think, and apparently is having a hard time recovering.  Sigh.  It seems to be some sort of injury for him every year.  He is such a special skater--I hope he can recover in time for Nationals.

 

Nathan Chen is having a great season so far.  He seems to have the quad down pat now, and his triple axel is looking good as well.  Jason will definitely need to be looking over his shoulder!  It will be interesting to see what people think of Jason's long this year.  It is all piano, I would describe it as...introspective?  I think it is the kind of piece that if done perfectly would be amazing.  If not done perfectly, it runs the risk of falling very flat.

[legaleagle53]

And if you haven't heard the news, Evgeni Plushenko has announced that he had another surgery on his back and that he will not compete in any ISU events this year.

 

Quelle surprise.

[apgold]

More details on Farris' concussion.  I suppose we won't know more about his progress until later this fall whether he plans to take part in Nationals.  Obviously his health comes first, so he needs to take as much time as he needs to recover.  Wishing him the best.

 

As for the other US men, Nathan is killing it so far in his Jr Grand Prix competition, and Jason's team posted video of him doing a clean quad, so let's hope he can land it competition. He's got a Senior B (Ondrej Nepela) this weekend, so maybe we'll see it there?  Max Aaron won a silver medal at a Senior B, Nebelhorn Trophy this past weekend. He had a great short program but a not so great long.

 

The skating season is really gearing up - Skate America is happening the weekend of Oct 23rd - NBC will do its usual coverage.  This upcoming weekend also has the Japan Open, which will not be televised in the US, but I'm sure videos can be found on Youtube.

 

The ladies should be interesting with both Mao and Adelina back after taking the season off, along with Queen Liza, Gracie, Ashley and Satoko.

Edited September 28, 2015 by apgold

[Rick Kitchen]

 

And if you haven't heard the news, Evgeni Plushenko has announced that he had another surgery on his back and that he will not compete in any ISU events this year.

 

But he'll be all miraculously recovered in time for the next Olympics.

[Good Queen Jane]

NBC has announced its broadcast schedule for figure skating for 2015-16, which I've reproduced below. The schedule is pretty much the same as in the past: Universal Sports network will air the Men and Ladies short programs and the Pairs and Dance Free Skates. NBC will show the higher placed skaters in the Ladies and Men Free Skate, along with any other skaters’ program which they think are of interest. NBC did not offer any information on who would do the commentary on Universal Sports this season. It appears that the Pairs short programs and Short Dances won’t be getting much TV time this season. These segments aren’t listed for any of the Grand Prix event broadcasts. NBC also will be offering full coverage of the U.S. Championships in St. Paul, but only the Free Skates.

 

Icenetwork.com will offer live-stream and on-demand video of all skaters at all ISU events and the U.S. Championships to its subscribers. Also, I fully expect people will be posting video of individual performances at each competition on YouTube.

 

 

NBC Networks 2015-16 Figure Skating Broadcast Schedule
All times listed are EASTERN and subject to change.

 

Grand Prix
Oct. 24, 2015 2015 Skate America 5-6 p.m. NBC
Oct. 25, 2015 2015 Skate America 10-11:30 p.m. NBCSN
Oct. 31, 2015 2015 Skate Canada International: Free Dance 4-5:30 p.m. Universal
Oct. 31, 2015 2015 Skate Canada International: Pairs Free 7:30-8:30 p.m. Universal
Nov. 1, 2015 2015 Skate Canada International 4:30-6 p.m. NBC
Nov. 6, 2015 2015 Cup of China: Ladies and Men’s Short Programs 12-2 p.m. Universal
Nov. 7, 2015 2015 Cup of China: Free Dance/Pairs Free 12-3 p.m. Universal
Nov. 8, 2015 2015 Cup of China 12-1:30 p.m. NBC
Nov. 13, 2015 2015 Trophee Bompard (France): Ladies/Men’s Shorts 8-10 p.m. Universal
Nov. 14, 2015 2015 Trophee Bompard: Free Dance/Pairs Free 6-9 p.m. Universal
Nov. 15, 2015 2015 Trophee Bompard 12-2 p.m. NBC
Nov. 20, 2015 2015 Rostelecom Cup (Russia): Men’s/Ladies Shorts 8-10 p.m. Universal
Nov. 21, 2015 2015 Rostelecom Cup: Free Dance/Pairs Free 4-7 p.m. Universal
Nov. 22, 2015 2015 Rostelecom Cup 12-1:30 p.m. NBC
Nov. 28, 2015 2015 NHK Trophy (Japan): Men’s/Ladies Shorts 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Universal
Nov. 29, 2015 2015 NHK Trophy: Pairs Free 11 a.m. -12:30 p.m. Universal
Nov. 29, 2015 2015 NHK Trophy: Free Dance 5-6:30 p.m. Universal
Nov. 29, 2015 2015 NHK Trophy 4-6 p.m. NBC
Dec. 10, 2015 2015 Grand Prix Final: Pairs/Men’s Shorts 8-10 p.m. Universal
Dec. 11, 2015 2015 Grand Prix Final: SD/Pairs FS/Ladies SP 8-11 p.m. Universal
Dec. 12, 2015 2015 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final: FD 8-9 p.m. Universal
Dec. 20, 2015 2015 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 4-6 p.m. NBC

 

US Nationals
Jan. 17, 2016 Preview Show 4-5 p.m. NBC
Jan. 23, 2016 Pairs Free Skate and Free Dance 3-6 p.m. NBC
Jan. 23, 2016 Ladies Free Skate 8-11 p.m. NBC
Jan. 24, 2016 Men’s Free Skate 4-6 p.m. NBC
Jan. 30, 2016 Smucker’s Skating Spectacular 4-6 p.m. NBC

 

ISU Championships
Jan. 25-31, 2016 2016 European Championships TBD Universal
Jan. 31, 2016 2016 European Championships 4-6 p.m. NBC
Feb. 16-20, 2016 2016 Four Continents Championships TBD Universal
Feb. 20, 2016 2016 Four Continents Championships 2-4 p.m. NBC
March 28-April 3, 2016 2016 World Championships TBD Universal
April 2, 2016 2016 World Championships 9-11 p.m. NBC
April 10, 2016 2016 World Championships 3-6 p.m. NBC

[AllAboutMBTV]

Thanks, as always, Good Queen Jane! You are doing the lord's work.

[Tippi]

I have to correct my post about Jason's long--it starts out with piano and then goes into strings, I believe.  I watched his Nepala long and he stood up on the quad but it was underrotated; he also struggled with his triple axels.  Sigh.  Jason is such a beautiful skater and a wonderful person.  I look at photos sometimes that capture him  during skating and he has amazing positions.  The thing is, the younger male skaters on the Junior Grand Prix circuit are hitting quads left and right.  Canada's Nam Nguyen is hitting quads and is only 17.  Japan has a terrific young skater in Shoma Uno who is said to have a dynamite long to Nessun Dorma.  Hanyu is very young himself.  I wonder if the men's champs will trend younger like the women's have.  Although, 25 year old Mao Asada won the Japan Open over Sotnikova, Tuk, Wagner, and Gold.  Anyway, this should be a very interesting season!

[Good Queen Jane]

The Japan Open has the skaters only doing their Free Skate and the emphasis is on the artistic, so I would expect Mao to do better than the young jumpers. Nathan Chen also has been hitting a quad regularly.

 

On a shallow note, Ashley Wagner is now a brunette, the better to distinguish herself from Gracie, I guess.

[apgold]

Not to nitpicky (and shallow), but Ashley's hair is more of an auburn red, not brunette (and it clashes with her Moulin Rouge costume).

 

I though Mao was amazing at the JO - she will make Madam Butterfly another of her signature pieces.  Since I'm going to Worlds this year, I so want to see her skate this live.

 

Apparently Jason hit a 4T/3T in practice recently, so he's getting there.

[Good Queen Jane]

The Finlandia Trophy, a Challenger Series/Senior B competition, was this past weekend. Adam Rippon  won silver. Apparently he went to the salon with his pal Ashley Wagner to have his hair dyed. Adam, however, decided to turn his hair color to silver. It’s a, well, different look and one I’m not sure was the best choice. But it does make him instantly recognizable. The video from Finlandia wasn’t great, but it looks like Adam has also done away with all but a few curls on the top of his head. I’m not sure messing with the curls was a good choice, either. As Charlie White showed, there is power in those curls.

 

Julia Lipnitskaia of Russia also won silver. She has changed physically since she competed last winter. It appears that puberty has come upon her. She has grown some, her legs are longer and her body has filled out. Not surprisingly, Lipnitskaia’s jumps were more awkward in Finland than she has shown in the past, although she still has the flexibility to do her amazing final combination spin. I’ve only seen one video of Elena Radionova this season (from the Russian Open in September) but she also looks a bit taller and more mature since last season. This is what happens with 16-year-old girls. It will be interesting to see how Lipnitskaia and Radionova cope with their new bodies. However, the Russians seem to have an endless stream of pre-pubescent girls ready to step in if Lipnitskaia and Radionova should falter.

[Rick Kitchen]

Adam came out, though I don't think in the world of Figure Skating that means very much.

[Good Queen Jane]

As legaleagle53 said above (on another topic): Quelle surprise.

[caracas1914]

Mao if she can keep her 3 Axel consistent should be competitive with the younger skaters, in hindsight her re-working all her jumps a couple of years ago , which seemed insane at the time, may pay off for her.

[Good Queen Jane]

An update: Russian Men’s skater Evgeni Plushenko has told TASS, the Russian news agency, that he has no plans at the moment to undergo any surgeries on his spine. In mid-September, Plushenko was diagnosed with a new spinal injury and it was announced he would miss the current season. The report at that time was that Plushenko would undergo surgery at some point to fix the injury so he could be ready to skate in the 2018 Winter Olympics. But now, Plushenko seems to be hedging his bets.

 

“There were media reports that I would undergo a surgery, which is necessary for me,” Plushenko said in an interview with TASS. “I want to say personally that there were no surgeries and I do not plan any as of today.” “I have traveled to Israel where I underwent spinal block and physiotherapeutic procedures,” Plushenko added. “I am feeling well now. Yes, I am not jumping quadruples as my doctor prohibits it. But I do triple and a half an all triple jumps. My spine allows such jumps.”

 

Plushenko announced that even though he is skipping the current season due to the new spinal injury, he is working on two short programs and one free skate. He told TASS that he would skate his new programs at an exhibition performance in the Estonian capital of Tallinn on October 18.

 

So once again, Plushenko has left the figure skating world in a fog of confusion. It’s not clear if he will have the needed surgery or not, but apparently his back holds up well enough that he can do triple axels and other triple jumps at shows for which he gets paid. Will he or will he not make a run at skating in the 2018 Olympics? Who knows.

 

In other news, it has been reported that French Skating Federation president Didier Gailhaguet is formally launching a bid for the ISU Presidency when current president Ottavio Cinquatta steps down (hopefully) next year. Gailhaguet, as you might recall, was suspended by the ISU for three years after being named as a central figure in the judging scandal at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Gailhaguet is said to have pressured the French judge in Pairs to give the highest scores to the Russian skaters in that discipline so that French skaters in other disciplines would get high scores from the Russian judges. Gailhaguet also has been criticized in the past by French skaters for taking what they considered to be an extraordinarily large percentage of their winnings at various competitions as a “fee” due to the French Federation.

[legaleagle53]

An update: Russian Men’s skater Evgeni Plushenko has told TASS, the Russian news agency, that he has no plans at the moment to undergo any surgeries on his spine. In mid-September, Plushenko was diagnosed with a new spinal injury and it was announced he would miss the current season. The report at that time was that Plushenko would undergo surgery at some point to fix the injury so he could be ready to skate in the 2018 Winter Olympics. But now, Plushenko seems to be hedging his bets.

 

“There were media reports that I would undergo a surgery, which is necessary for me,” Plushenko said in an interview with TASS. “I want to say personally that there were no surgeries and I do not plan any as of today.” “I have traveled to Israel where I underwent spinal block and physiotherapeutic procedures,” Plushenko added. “I am feeling well now. Yes, I am not jumping quadruples as my doctor prohibits it. But I do triple and a half an all triple jumps. My spine allows such jumps.”

 

Plushenko announced that even though he is skipping the current season due to the new spinal injury, he is working on two short programs and one free skate. He told TASS that he would skate his new programs at an exhibition performance in the Estonian capital of Tallinn on October 18.

 

So once again, Plushenko has left the figure skating world in a fog of confusion. It’s not clear if he will have the needed surgery or not, but apparently his back holds up well enough that he can do triple axels and other triple jumps at shows for which he gets paid. Will he or will he not make a run at skating in the 2018 Olympics? Who knows.

 

Ugh.  Plushy, your body's been trying to tell you something for years now. Take the bloody hint and retire!

 

In other news, it has been reported that French Skating Federation president Didier Gailhaguet is formally launching a bid for the ISU Presidency when current president Ottavio Cinquatta steps down (hopefully) next year. Gailhaguet, as you might recall, was suspended by the ISU for three years after being named as a central figure in the judging scandal at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Gailhaguet is said to have pressured the French judge in Pairs to give the highest scores to the Russian skaters in that discipline so that French skaters in other disciplines would get high scores from the Russian judges. Gailhaguet also has been criticized in the past by French skaters for taking what they considered to be an extraordinarily large percentage of their winnings at various competitions as a “fee” due to the French Federation.

 

 

 

And speaking of missing the point.  Vraiement, M. Gailahaguet?

[Shades of Red]

Too late for today, but CBC is covering Skate America.  It's on tomorrow at 2 pm EST.    Today the pairs' long and ladies' long program was on and tomorrow it's the men and dance.  David Pelletier has been doing commentary and I have to say I quite like it.  He's very good at giving his opinion as well as filling it lots of technical information.

[annzeepark914]

The only thing I caught was the Free Dance and I watched it on Streamking or something like that - it was Russian so I didn't understand a word said.  Can't believe I missed the one hour NBC broadcast (how kind of them).  Anyhow...I thought Sinitisina and Nikita should've won.  They were sensational and I think she's catching up to NK in skating skills.  Chock and Bates were boring IMO and he's still skating bent at the waist to compensate for her short stature.

Edited October 25, 2015 by annzeepark914

[MostlyC]

....way to go NBC.  You showed the exact, same hour of skating you showed yesterday.  You couldn't show an hour of the men, or the pairs or ice-dancing competitions?  You couldn't even show the women's short program?   I just....whoever is in charge of NBC weekend programming needs to be replaced STAT.

[Libby96]

So all we really get of Skate America is five ladies long programs? (Twice). None of the other disciplines will be airing even on Universal?

Sigh. I suppose by now I shouldn't be surprised.

[annzeepark914]

There's going to be something about Skate American tonight, from 10-11:30 PM on NBCSN.  Yeah, thanks a lot NBC.  I'm really sick and tired of the lack of interest shown by NBC to figure skating.  Wish a cable channel would take it over (and get rid of Tara and Johnny; try substituting some other skaters for a change).

[SophiaD]

I'm watching that right now and have been pleasantly surprised at the length of the coverage.  They showed all of the top men, as well as the Chock and Bates' free dance.  Still nowhere near the length of coverage that I would like, but it was nice to see the programs.  We also saw portions of the top pairs.

 

Max Aaron is WAY more artistic than he used to be.  His "Black Swan" program suffers in comparison to Rudi Galindo's (whose wouldn't?), but it's obvious he is taking more time and thought with each element, instead of racing through to get to the jumps.  Sadly, I didn't see Jason Brown's program, but Shoma Uno is the real deal, and so is Han Yan.  If Han Yan ever gets out of his own way, he will be a force to be reckoned with.  He had a super-scary fall out of quad, landing with his legs crossed, which made my knees shudder in sympathy.

 

Wondering what happened to Dennis Ten?  He finished in ninth.  Yikes.

[catray]

Wondering what happened to Dennis Ten?  He finished in ninth.  Yikes.

 

They said he had a hip flexor injury, which made it hard for him to jump (I believe they said he'd only just starting adding jumps back into his practice this past week) but skating as a whole was still pretty painful due to the injury.

 

I'm a little bit peeved because I set my DVR to record the skating on NBCSN and not only did it start late due to some F1 racing, my DVR cut off before Max Aaron's gold medal skate!! ARGH. I did enjoy Shoma Uno and Han Yan's programs though. Jason's was beautiful but he really is going to need to figure out his 3-axel and the quad.

[Rick Kitchen]

Here's Max's free skate.  The (minimal) commentary is in Russian.  I hope he has more choreography that he can work into the program in the future.

 

[apgold]

I read that Universal Sports Network is shutting down on November 18th.  I wonder how that will impact figure skating programming that Good Queen Jane posted above for the Grand Prix season.

 

I don't have USN in my cable package but do have NBCSN, which I hope inherits the hours that NBC doesn't show.

 

Also, an Interesting article in the Huffington Post about the poor attendance at Skate America and the general decline of FS popularity since the 90s/early aughts.

Edited October 27, 2015 by apgold

[Rick Kitchen]

If the US had megastar skaters again, the attendance at events would improve.

[Shades of Red]

  Chock and Bates were boring IMO and he's still skating bent at the waist to compensate for her short stature.

Nice to see I'm not the only one who thought they were boring. 

 

They said he had a hip flexor injury, which made it hard for him to jump (I believe they said he'd only just starting adding jumps back into his practice this past week) but skating as a whole was still pretty painful due to the injury.

 

 Jason's was beautiful but he really is going to need to figure out his 3-axel and the quad.

The Canadian commentators hinted at injuries but didn't come right out and say what the injury was.  David Pelletier was very refreshing in his comments about Denis skating or lack there of.  He talked about the gaps when Denis fell and got back into the program and how he looked like he really didn't care and shouldn't be skating.  David in essence said, everyone has a bad day, but at least look like you're putting in an effort and want to be there.  Denis wasted the space and someone else could have skated - my words not David's. 

 

He also commented on Jason's skate and how weird it is that someone who can't seem to get their shit together (ok, my words, but the sentiment is his) to jump manages to rise up as much as he does.  At some point his artistic marks aren't going to be able to carry him.  DP figures Jason needs to go back to basics, master his jumps, especially the triple axel which is a must have for men and then get the artistic down.  At the end of the day this is still a sporting competition.  Artistic is wonderful for exhibitions and skating shows, but you have to have the athletic part for jumping if you're going to compete.

[catray]

Universal Sports Network is shutting down on November 18th.

 

What?! NOOOOOOOOO!! This is terrible news. I rely on USN for all my Olympic sports coverage (primarily figure skating and swimming) so this sucks big time!! Boo hiss.

[annzeepark914]

I like what David Pelletier said about Jason.  What he does presentation-wise is beautiful but it is a sport and he's got to be able to do a triple axel and a couple of quads if he's going to compete. Otherwise, he needs to move on to the shows (and he'd be popular!) They were commenting on the intricacies of his skating in the middle of his program and I thought to myself: if only he invested as much time in tackling his axel and quad.

[IdleBrook]

I am sure this an unpopular opinion, but I don't find Jason to be that artistic.  I think of him as a great performer who has excellently choreographed programs.  My favorite thing about Jason is that he skates smart.  The jumps are only one part of the technical score, and Jason does a good job of making sure the other technical aspects of his skating are top-notch.  Jason garners a lot of technical points by having great spins, difficult footwork, and difficult entrances into the jumps that he can execute well.  It is not likely that Jason will ever top the world podium without a consistent triple axel and a quad.  However, if the others above him make major mistakes, the other aspects of his skating may help get him there.  

Edited October 28, 2015 by IdleBrook

[Shades of Red]

Schedule for Skate Canada for anyone who can see it.  I'm a little late on this so this afternoon's broadcast has been left out.  Currently TSN is showing the Men's short and I think the Pairs' short will be coming up.  I've tuned in late for that.  According to my guide off the tv it looks like there's going to be something on TSN at 5:30 am tomorrow morning.  It doesn't tell me what they're showing.

 

CTV is showing the Ladies' Free at 2 pm tomorrow, TSN will have the Free Dance on at 4:30, Pairs Free at 7 pm on CTV and TSN will have a recap at 8:30 pm tomorrow night.  Check local listings to be sure.  I got this from Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje's facebook page along with some from my onscreen tv listings.

[mehtotheworld]

Little late, but I saw video of Chock/Bates' exhibition skate and it was more interesting than any competitive program I've ever seen them skate. A bit of hilarious ice writhing, but also interesting choreography and a little heat (!!).

 

 

Also, I'm cackling about Sinitsina/Katsalapov taking 2nd and injecting even more drama in Russian ice dance. Ilinykh/Zhiganshin don't really do anything for me, but I enjoyed S/K a lot more than before so I'm looking forward to what the rest of the season will bring in the rivalry.

 

Watching NBC's whopping hour and a half of Skate Canada coverage and Johnny really annoyed me with his comments about Ashley Wagner reusing last year's program (albeit with some updates). Like, I get it and fair point, but she is more of a performer than other skaters regardless of how new a performance is. I don't know, I don't think she gets enough credit for selling the hell out of her programs, to the point where I'm finding frickin' Moulin Rouge compelling (even after an entire season of the original incarnation).

 

I have many questions.

[MaryMitch]

Watching NBC's whopping hour and a half of Skate Canada coverage and Johnny really annoyed me with his comments about Ashley Wagner reusing last year's program (albeit with some updates). Like, I get it and fair point, but she is more of a performer than other skaters regardless of how new a performance is. I don't know, I don't think she gets enough credit for selling the hell out of her programs, to the point where I'm finding frickin' Moulin Rouge compelling (even after an entire season of the original incarnation).

I really enjoyed the Moulin Rouge program last year. But a new outfit doesn't make the program new, Johnny. I think someone mentioned the choreography was reworked.

 

I did agree with Johnny's comments about Adam Rippon's program. If he wants to go for a "rock and roll" program, he needs to energize his moves. I actually rewatched his skate with the sound off and in my head I was hearing classical music. (But I kinda like that hair!)

[Avaleigh]

I find it terribly lazy that Ashley is reusing the Moulin Rouge program, I don't care that there are changes. The program and music aren't so amazing that I want to see another season of it. The best thing I can say is that at least it isn't 'My Heart Will Go On'. Seriously, imagine having to train with Elena. I'd be so annoyed after a month of listening to it multiple times a day.

As for Ashley not getting enough credit--she is certainly her own loudest cheerleader so that's part of the turn off. I also find her spins to be incredibly underwhelming. I also think she tries too hard in terms of presentation. It doesn't look effortless to me. Quite the opposite in fact.

I do like Gracie's Firebird program even though it's another warhorse in terms of music.

Edited for grammar issues. :p

Edited November 2, 2015 by Avaleigh

[mehtotheworld]

Eh, I don't mind someone being confident or tooting their own horn...if I like their skating. Plus, I think some of that is necessary since Gracie Gold is way more popular without the relative success. I also still can't think of the whole Olympics hoopla without cringing. Plus, there's an endless parade of Russian "teen phenoms" winning medals and taking up copy.

 

The sad thing is that, no, the program isn't a masterpiece and I really don't like Moulin Rouge as a vehicle all that much in general (especially with whatsherface's vocals), but to me it's still one of the more entertaining programs out there at the moment. I think what turned the tide for me on Ashley Wagner was seeing her in Stars on Ice, which confused the hell out of me since I never go to SoI expecting much. It was similar to her SC exhibition, from what I can recall. She puts on a good show in my mind.

[Shades of Red]

Little late, but I saw video of Chock/Bates' exhibition skate and it was more interesting than any competitive program I've ever seen them skate. A bit of hilarious ice writhing, but also interesting choreography and a little heat (!!!)

 

That's an understatement!  I can honestly say I've never really taken any notice of Evan Bates, but this changes my opinion of him 100%.  Certainly not bland and boring in this clip.

 

I didn't watch the Reader's Digest condensed version of Skate Canada on NBC so not quite sure what they showed, but wonder if they showed the Russian pairs couple who skated last in the first flight of skaters?  They were skating to the Beatles I believe and she was wearing Daisy Dukes!!!  I know the dress code has gotten more relaxed over the years, but seriously?

 

Count me in with the people not impressed that Ashley Wagner reused a routine.  Don't care if it's been reworked or not.  It's only fair for everyone if they start from scratch each season.    I'm pretty sure Tracy Wilson or Rod Black said she's been using it for exhibitions and skating shows.  This used to mean that a skater was too lazy or couldn't be bothered to learn something new or really didn't care about the competition side of things anymore. 

 

Speaking of which, when did it become acceptable to stop in the middle of a routine?  Pretty sure it happened in just about every discipline I watched.  You would have been penalized or at the very least mocked endlessly for pausing/taking a breather in the middle of a routine.  Meant you weren't in peak physical form and needed to work on your stamina.  Maybe it's time to stop the jumping contest (which didn't go well for many this competition) and get back to basics and master those before moving on.

[BelleBrit]

I think it was the short program that Ashley performed in the ice shows. She had said that the reason why she had kept the long program was that she needed to do shows all summer to make money, and knew that she wouldn't have time to learn a new long program and that at least she could practice the long program while doing shows to keep in shape. However, I am with others who are unimpressed that she's keeping it. It seems that a lot of skaters would be in the same position that she is in and still manage to come up with new programs, and while I know that she supports herself and that skaters don't make as much money now as they used to, she also benefits from a lot of sponsorships that other US ladies do not have. I think it was just a strategic decision since she is comfortable with the program. I give her kudos for getting into the program and for doing the facial expressions, but for me personally, the exagerated facial expressions just come off as too muggy and make everything look silly. It does seem like a lot of other people are impressed with and love the program though. I think that PCs for a lot of people have been very inflated this season. I know people like Karen Chen, and she is extremely fast and has the spiral, but something about her skating just looks frantic to me, particularly in her long program at Skate America she was just kind of throwing herself into the jumps and not holding her edges. Yet, even though she had a step out and two falls in her free, she got high PCs (particularly for someone's grand prix debut) so her total was decent.  I'll be kind of annoyed if that happens at Cup of China again this weekend.

 

Edit: I don't mean to pick on Karen, she is hardly the only one who I think has gotten higher than deserved PCs so far. Yegenia, Liza, Gracie, Yulia, and Wagner have all received higher than deserved PCs so far IMO, even if in some cases the rankings are right within one competition. Besides reputation scoring for PCs being an issue for me, (and ignoring the concept that a top lady could have better interpretation/speed in one competition, and then have an off competition the next go around but receive the same PCs) another thing that annoys me is that most judges give uniform PC marks for each category-i.e, they reward Liza for speed, but also give her  comparable marks for interpretation and transitions when in my opinion they may not be deserved.

Edited November 3, 2015 by BelleBrit

[Shades of Red]

I think it was the short program that Ashley performed in the ice shows.

Thank you for the correction.  Truthfully this is the first time in years I've watched all the disciplines, so the ladies' and mens' programs are running together a little bit.  When the singles' turned into a jumping competition I tuned out but was convinced by a friend to give it another try.   So this tells me she didn't really do much for originality this year.   Everyone is busy in their own way, so that's really no excuse and she managed to practice her routines in the ice shows she performed in.  She may not have shown her long, but she did get the practice time in.  Not many skaters get that opportunity.

Edited November 3, 2015 by Shades of Red

[apgold]

I didn't watch the Reader's Digest condensed version of Skate Canada on NBC so not quite sure what they showed, but wonder if they showed the Russian pairs couple who skated last in the first flight of skaters?

 

NBC didn't show pairs or ice dance in their 90 minute recap.  J/T/T were in the studio (they were not live like at SA).  Just the top Ladies and Men's - Ashley's SP and her FS, plus Liza, Yuka and Polina.  On the men's side, they showed Patrick, Yuzu, Daisuke, Adam and Nam.  I was kind of surprised they didn't show Tim Dolensky's FS b/c he is an upcoming US man and his FS was very good, probably the best he's ever skated. I was kind of hoping they would show the ShibSibs FD - b/c yes they are Americans and it was that good.

 

Re: Ashley keeping MR.  I like her new look (the dress and the hair) and she has added in some new choreography but overall it's the same program with the same jump layout (except she's now back to doing the 3F-3T).  Other skaters sometimes keep their programs from year to year (Yuzu's Chopin SP, for example), so I don't have a huge problem with it.

[UYI]

Poor Debi Thomas. How did this happen? :'(

 

http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_29082824/figure-skater-debi-thomas-now-broke-and-living?source=infinite-up

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/debi-thomas-olympic-skater-trailer_563bad15e4b0307f2cac80c1

[gatopretoNYC]

Poor Debi Thomas. How did this happen? :'(

http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_29082824/figure-skater-debi-thomas-now-broke-and-living?source=infinite-up

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/debi-thomas-olympic-skater-trailer_563bad15e4b0307f2cac80c1

Oh my God!

I LOVED her. This breaks my heart. I'll have to watch the show, even though I can't stand Iyanla. I hope she can help her.

Edited November 7, 2015 by gatopretoNYC

[Avaleigh]

You guys, I've been thinking about this story all day at work. I'm shocked that it's that bad. Surely there's more to the story? My first thought was that drugs and/or alcohol might be playing a role but so far there's no mention of anything of that nature.

Very sad. And I realize that they're *wildly* different situations but I can't help but think about Christopher Bowman and Nicole Bobek when I read about something like this.

[UYI]

You guys, I've been thinking about this story all day at work. I'm shocked that it's that bad. Surely there's more to the story? My first thought was that drugs and/or alcohol might be playing a role but so far there's no mention of anything of that nature.

Very sad. And I realize that they're *wildly* different situations but I can't help but think about Christopher Bowman and Nicole Bobek when I read about something like this.

 

Oh, Christopher Bowman. What a gorgeous man he was, and so charismatic. What a waste.

 

To be fair, Nicole has worked hard to kick her drug habit and remake her life. She's doing a lot better now these days. 

[Avaleigh]

Thankfully, Nicole was lucky enough to be given extra chances and she has people around her who seem to support her.

The relationship with the supposed husband to be sounds a little suspect.

[SophiaD]

Thank you for inspiring me to look up Nicole, UYI.  I'm delighted that she has turned her life around and putting her immense talent to such wonderful use.

 

ETA:  Here is one of the articles I found about Nicole.  It's a few years old, but really wonderful.  I couldn't be happier for her.

 

That's horrible news about Debi.  I hope she gets support and help enough to rebuild her life.

Edited November 8, 2015 by SophiaD

[MostlyC]

Tracey and Terry did the commentary for Cup of China.  I wonder what is up with that.

 

Mao is an amazing skater.  Rika Hongo was also terrific.

[ML89]

>>>Tracey and Terry did the commentary for Cup of China. I wonder what is up with that.<<<

When I saw this the first time in the NBC press release, I thought it was a cut and paste from last year but it wasn't. Last year Johnny was on vacation so Tara bowed out too. This year, Johnny was in NYC per his social media, getting ready to cover the dog show next week (the one that airs at Thanksgiving - Tara will be there too) so I'm at a loss, since they recorded Skate Canada at 2:30 in the morning. I think Tara was in town too.

Terry is on LPGA the next two weeks, so Tanith Belbin, oops, White ( although she's billed as Belbin) will be Terry with Johnny and Tara - looks like NBC is going to turn her into a Terry (analyst who becomes play by play on other sports) since she's done features too.